Updated: Second victim in deadly Lee crash expected to recover

LEE — Police continue to investigate a single-vehicle crash early Thursday morning that killed one man, seriously injured another and resulted in felony charges for the Barrington driver.

Police now say the second individual seriously hurt in the accident is expected to recover from his injuries.

The one-vehicle crash on Snell Road at 1:30 a.m., killed 21-year-old Jason Melanson of Barrington after the 1999 Volkswagen Jetta in which he was riding left the road and struck a tree. Melanson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sgt. Thomas Dronsfield said Friday morning the condition of another passenger in the vehicle was improving. That passenger, Stephen Garvin, 22, of Strafford, was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Thursday.

Garvin suffered skull and facial fractures but is expected to make a recovery, Dronsfield said.

Police say the driver of the Jetta, 21-year-old Brian Newsky of Barrington, lost control of the vehicle and crashed it into a tree while attempting to navigate a sharp corner on Snell Road.

Dronsfield said Newsky "was under the influence" during the crash. He wouldn't specify what Newsky was under the influence of because police were still awaiting blood results.

Newsky, of 40 Oak Hill Road, was charged with negligent homicide in connection with the accident.

The Strafford County Technical Accident Reconstruction team is investigating the accident. Dronsfield said police aren't sure how fast Newsky's vehicle was going when it crashed but noted that would be part of the TAR team's report.

Newsky was released from police custody Thursday and is scheduled for arraignment in Dover District Court on Dec. 14 at 8:30 a.m.